Blackhawks Bottom Line: MacKenzie Entwistle

Over the course of the next month, Chicago Hockey Now will be profiling every Chicago Blackhawks player from the 2022-23 season. Today, will be forward MacKenzie Entwistle

MacKenzie Entwistle
Forward
Games Played: 66
(Goals – Assists – Points): 4-6-10
Contract Status: One Year Remaining; $800k

The Short View

Entwistle is a role player on a rebuilding team where many players are detrmining where they fit into the puzzle. Entwistle had four goals and six assists this season, and had one of his biggest goals of the season against Edmonton way back on November 30th. Trailing 4-3, Entwistle buried the tying goal, and Max Domi would net the game winner to hand the surprising victory over the Oilers.

He’s not going to score buckets of goals, but Entwistle is going to do the little things at times that go unnoticed.

The Long View

Since being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in the deal that sent Marian Hossa’s contract to the Arizona Coyotes.  Entwistle is among a group of Blackhawks who will be essentially auditioning to remain once their contracts are expired. Every team has these players but it gets more defined as an organization moves from full rebuild to the stage of moving away from it.

If looking for an apt comparison, he’s in the mold of an Andrew Shaw. He just may not score goals at the same clip but he seems like the guy who will get the greasy goals. Like Shaw, he’s not afraid to go into the corners, play the physical brand of hockey needed to sometimes spur the play along.

The Bottom Line

Entwistle is on a one-year deal heading into next season. 2023-24 will be a chance for him to carve out a permanent spot on the roster. Everyone will be watching to see what general manager Kyle Davidson has in mind. Will he be more aggressive in accelerating the rebuild? Will he take a wait and see approach? Or will it just be organically moved along?

It seems like this would be the bottomed out version of it now that they’ll be picking first in the draft and selecting Connor Bedard. The question remains of how much faster it accelerates things. All of this coincides with players on one-year deals like Entwistle. With more skill likely being packed onto the roster, it’s a chance to build on his numbers. The physical edge is there–can he add more to the stat line?

Previous Blackhawks Bottom Line Entries: Jonathan Toews | Andreas Athanasiou | Tyler Johnson | Seth Jones